Professional Documents
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ca/jbar
E-mail: maher835@kelantan.uitm.edu.my
doi:10.5430/jbar.v1n1p43
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5430/jbar.v1n1p43
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by the intention to perform the behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). The stronger the intention, the more likely the
behavior will be performed. Additionally, the theory holds that the intention is determined by their attitude and
subjective norms. Attitudes are made up of a persons salient beliefs that the behavior leads to certain outcomes,
either positive or negative. These beliefs are acquired from experience, outside information and inner feeling. The
beliefs are then rated for the probability that engaging in the behavior will produce the believed outcome (belief
strength). On the other hand, subjective norms are the product of normative belief. The normative belief is the belief
that others such as family, peers and teachers want ones to perform and they are motivated to comply with these
referent groups.
Despite the fact that accountants shortage is a worldwide concern, majority of studies were conducted in the western
countries, while local studies remain scarce. Therefore, this situation motivates the study to explore this issue within
the context of Malaysia as there may not be one size fits all solutions. In light of the above issue and following
previous studies, this study aimed to adopt the TRA model and examine two objectives. The first objective was to
examine the influence of attitude towards accounting program and students intention to choose accounting as the
academic program. Meanwhile, the second objective was to examine the influence of subjective norms on students
intention to choose accounting as the academic program.
2. Methodology
2.1 Sampling and Data Collection
The data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to Diploma in Accountancy students of Universiti
Teknologi MARA Kelantan. There were 704 students from this program as of 31st May 2010. Approximately 400
sets of survey instrument were randomly distributed and 340 students responded, represented by 85.0 % response
rate. The survey instrument is a seven-page questionnaire with two parts. Part A elicited demographic profile of the
respondent which included gender, the semester they were in, parents occupation, parents income and level of
education. Part B consisted of 36 questions representing measures of intention (2 questions); outcome evaluations
(12 questions); behavioural beliefs (12 questions); motivation to comply (5 questions) and normative beliefs (5
questions). Each question was evaluated using seven-point Likert scale. The outcomes evaluations were based on
respondents perception of accountants career outcomes. Meanwhile, important referents referred to those who
could motivate the students to comply with their choice, which included parents, teachers, counsellors, peers,
colleagues and etc. The measurements were elicited from previous studies (Cohen & Hanno, 1993; Dimnik &
Northey, 1995; Zhang, 2010).
2.2 Operationalization of Variables
2.2.1 Intention to choose accounting program
The respondents in the study were accounting students and therefore they had already performed the action of
choosing accounting as the academic programme. Following the suggestion of Cohen and Hanno (1993), surrogate
measures of intention were used to evaluate their intentions related to their decision to choose accounting program.
The two surrogate measures of intention used in the current study are How likely is it that you will graduate with
accounting program? and How likely is it that you will be working in accounting in five years? Even though these
two questions do not represent a direct measure of the intention to choose accounting as an academic program, they
do indeed provide an assessment on the intentions towards behaviours that are consistent with choosing the
accounting program (Cohen & Hanno, 1993). However, the results using these two measures of intention are similar.
Therefore, for the purpose of this study, only the results using the first measure will be reported.
2.2.2 Attitudes towards Outcomes
The attitudes towards outcomes were measured by 12 outcomes. The following were the outcomes with the decision
to choose an academic program listed in the questionnaire: 1) good long term earnings; 2) advancement opportunities;
3) variety in the work; 4) chance to make a contribution; 5) flexibility of career options; 6) high job security; 7)
social prestige; 8) structured career path; 9) exciting profession; 10) chance to work with numbers; 11) large amount
of class work; and 12) difficult and intensive program. Each outcome was assessed on a 7-point Likert scale
anchored by the endpoints extremely bad and extremely good. In the succeeding section, respondents were
required to rate their beliefs regarding the likelihood of those outcomes to materialize in the event that they choose
accounting as their academic program from extremely unlikely (1) to extremely likely (7). Each outcome score was
then multiplied with the likelihood of the outcome to occur before all the twelve products were summed up to form
the measure of attitude towards the choice of accounting as an academic program. The score was in the range
between 12 (1 x 12 x 1) and 588 (7 x 12 x 7).
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Malaysia despite the fact that the students enrolment is increasing in the accounting program, widely offered by
public and private institutions of higher learning.
3.4 Correlations Analysis
The Pearson correlation test was carried out to analyze the correlation between intention, attitude and subjective
norm. The results indicated that attitude was significantly and positively correlated with intention (p < 0.01, r = .62).
Likewise, the results also showed that subjective norm was significantly and positively correlated with intention (p <
0.01, r = 0.40). Meanwhile, the correlation between the independent variables namely attitude and subjective norms
was also significant (p < 0.01, r = .53). Thus, the results indicated that the attitude and subjective norm were highly
predictive of the intention to choose accounting as an academic program. In addition, both of the relationships were
positive, showing that the higher the attitude and subjective norm, the more likely the intention to choose accounting
as the academic program. All the correlation scores was less than 0.8, showing that the problem of multicolinearity
did not exist (Cooper & Schindler, 2008).
3.5 Regression Analysis
The results of regression analysis indicated that the model was significant with an adjusted R2 = 0.38 (p < 0.01) and
thus indicating that 38.3% of the dependent variable (intention) could be explained by the independent variables
(attitude and subjective norm). The model tested two hypotheses namely H1 and H2 by regressing attitude towards
accounting program and subjective norm with intention to choose accounting as academic program. The results are
depicted in Table 4.
3.6 Hypotheses Testing
3.6.1 The Relationship between Attitude towards Accounting Program and Intention to Choose Accounting Program
Hypothesis 1 examined the relationship between attitude towards accounting program and intention to choose
accounting program. The regression analysis revealed a significant and positive relationship between attitude toward
accounting program and intention to choose accounting program ( = 0.56, p < 0.001). The findings were consistent
with prior studies that examined the relationship of these variables namely attitudes and intention to choose
accounting program (Felton et al. 2005; Zhang, 2007; Jackling & Keneley, 2009). Therefore, based on the results of
the study, in tandem with prior studies (Felton et al. 2005; Zhang, 2007; Jackling & Keneley, 2009) and consistent
with TRA, this study concludes that attitude towards accounting program is significantly and positively related to
intention to choose accounting program.
3.6.2 The Relationship between Subjective Norms and Intention to Choose Accounting Program
Hypothesis 2 examined the relationship between subjective norms and intention to choose accounting program. The
regression analysis indicated that subjective norms was significantly and positively related to the intention to choose
accounting program ( = 0.11, p < 0.05). The findings concurred with prior studies that examined the relationship
between these two variables namely subjective norms and intention to choose accounting program (Felton et al. 2005;
Zhang, 2010; Jackling & Keneley, 2009). Therefore, based on the results of the study, in tandem with prior studies
(Felton et al. 2005; 2004; Jackling & Keneley, 2009; Zhang, 2010) and consistent with TRA, this study concludes
that subjective norms are significantly and positively related to intention to choose accounting program.
4.1 Implications of the Findings
The study found that attitude towards accounting program and subjective norms influence intention to choose
accounting program. However, the results indicated that both variables namely attitude and subjective norms were at
the average level. As such, this provides a serious implication to accounting professional bodies and institutions of
higher learning to enhance the students positive attitude towards accounting program. The students therefore, should
be exposed and educated on the positive outcomes from the accounting profession, including good long term
earnings, advancement opportunities, variety in the work, a chance to make a contribution and flexibility of career
options.
Meanwhile, the results also indicated that subjective norm or the referent groups are important people that can
influence students to choose accounting program. Hence, this provides another implication to the accounting
professional bodies and institutions of higher learning to promote accounting program such as talks and seminars on
accountancy career. The purpose is to disseminate relevant information on the role and function and a better
understanding of accountancy profession, not only to students but also to parents, counsellors, teachers and the
public. This can be achieved by aggressive participation in job career opportunities, which could be conducted via
seminars, road tour within Malaysia and information disclosed in the web site. The program served as a platform, not
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only for students but parents and teachers as well, to obtain first hand information on accounting career paths. Today,
as Institutions of Higher Education strive for higher students enrolment, they should play a proactive role by
promoting the accounting program to the secondary and primary schools students too.
4.2 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research
Even though this study supports several theoretical works, there are several limitations that need to be acknowledged.
The first limitation noted is that the low score of R2 (0.38) indicating that only 38 % of intention to choose
accounting as a choice of academic program is explained by attitudes and subjective norms. Therefore, future
researches are suggested to include more variables that would better explained the students intention to choose
accounting as their academic program. .
The second limitation relates to the findings of this research, which might be limited by the fact that they were based
on the data from only one campus of Universiti Teknologi MARA. Like many other studies, generalisability of the
outcomes of this research may be limited. As such, to enhance the generalisability of the findings, future research is
recommended to replicate the study in other Universiti Teknologi MARA campuses or perhaps to other universities
in Malaysia or elsewhere.
5. Conclusion
The study concludes that attitudes towards accounting subject and subjective norms influence students to choose
accounting as their academic programs. Additionally, in making a decision on which program to choose, the results
indicated that the students are concerned with the outcomes of their decisions. The factors which they are concerned
most are the good long term earnings, variety in the job, excitement and career advancement. The more positive the
outcomes, the stronger are the intention to choose accounting program. Apart from the outcomes, the roles and
influences from key individuals around the students or subjective norms are also undeniable. The results revealed
that family, teachers, advisor or counsellor had been named as important referents in choosing accounting as the
choice of academic program. Therefore, in an effort to attract students to join accounting profession, it is equally
imperative to educate students on the positive outcomes of the profession as well as to attract the important referents
by all means. It is hoped that the results could provide better insights for relevant authorities to carry out effective
promotional strategies in order to attract calibre students to choose accounting program and thus producing more
talented accountants.
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Outcome
Evaluation (OE)
(Mean)
Attitude
(Mean BB x Mean
OE)
5.74
5.61
32.20
Advancement opportunities
5.47
5.53
30.25
5.46
5.66
30.90
5.32
5.40
28.73
5.44
5.44
29.59
5.40
5.51
29.75
Social prestige
5.24
5.12
26.83
5.35
5.38
28.78
Exciting profession
5.49
5.62
30.85
5.33
5.45
29.05
5.11
5.02
25.65
4.87
4.67
22.74
355.91
Normative Belief
(NB) (Mean)
Motivation to Comply(MC)
Subjective Norm
(Mean)
(Mean NB x
Mean MC)
Family
5.37
5.40
29.00
Friends
5.11
4.63
23.66
Peers
4.90
4.37
21.41
Advisor/ counsellor
5.07
5.06
25.65
Teachers
5.19
5.01
26.00
129.91
Score
1
50
63
84
131
14
68
61
78
108
n=340
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t-value
Attitude
0.56
11.11***
Subjective norm
0.11
2.09*
Independent Variables
F value
16.93***
38.3
2
Adjusted R
37.9
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